Rutgers study cites 'stunning' lack of oversight of companies hired by New Jersey

By MICHAEL LINHORST

State house bureau |

The Record

A “stunning” lack of oversight by New Jersey of companies hired to do work for the state has cost taxpayers money and, in some cases, endangered residents, according to a three-year study released by Rutgers University on Thursday.

New Jersey has not devoted enough money or attention to making sure companies that sign contracts with the state do what they say they will do, the report said, even as the state continues to outsource government functions.

"The state is failing in its duty of protecting vulnerable citizens from poor service and taxpayers from wasted funds,” the report said.

The company hired by New Jersey to distribute federal Superstorm Sandy recovery money is the latest example highlighting lax oversight, the authors of the report said. That company, the Louisiana-based Hammerman & Gainer Inc., ran the state’s centerpiece Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation program. New Jersey fired it in January, even though its $68 million contract was not set to expire until 2016.

State officials have been tight-lipped about why the contract was canceled: They first said the company’s services were no longer needed, but recently said the firm had performance problems.

Among the reasons the study found for the state’s lack of oversight were too few employees, inadequate training and a lack of performance targets and data collection.

"Largely what we have in New Jersey today is oversight by audit and expose, which only catches problems after they occur and after they have become severe,” said Janice Fine, the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations professor who led the study.

The study was financed in part by the New Jersey AFL-CIO, a vocal opponent of Governor Christie.

But Fine emphasized that the state’s problems with oversight were not new under the Republican governor.

"Years before anyone had heard of Chris Christie or Jon Corzine, these problems were emerging," she said, referring to Christie’s predecessor, a Democrat.

A spokesman for Christie declined to comment.

State Sen. Bob Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, chairman of the Senate’s Legislative Oversight Committee, met with Fine last week to talk about her findings.

"Unless there is some mechanism for ensuring that we achieve the goals we set out for these programs, it's no surprise that we don't achieve them,” Gordon said. “And the public gets second rate services.”

Lawmakers haven’t settled on any specific proposals to increase oversight, he said, but one idea is to build financing to pay for oversight into each contract the state signs.

Whatever the solution, Fine said the way the state keeps track of its contractors needs significant improvement.

"We’re not proposing here a tinkering around the edges,” she said. “We believe that we need a complete overhaul of how oversight is being done in our state.”

Rutgers study cites 'stunning' lack of oversight of companies hired by New Jersey

By MICHAEL LINHORST

State house bureau |

The Record

A “stunning” lack of oversight by New Jersey of companies hired to do work for the state has cost taxpayers money and, in some cases, endangered residents, according to a three-year study released by Rutgers University on Thursday.

New Jersey has not devoted enough money or attention to making sure companies that sign contracts with the state do what they say they will do, the report said, even as the state continues to outsource government functions.

"The state is failing in its duty of protecting vulnerable citizens from poor service and taxpayers from wasted funds,” the report said.

The company hired by New Jersey to distribute federal Superstorm Sandy recovery money is the latest example highlighting lax oversight, the authors of the report said. That company, the Louisiana-based Hammerman & Gainer Inc., ran the state’s centerpiece Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation program. New Jersey fired it in January, even though its $68 million contract was not set to expire until 2016.

State officials have been tight-lipped about why the contract was canceled: They first said the company’s services were no longer needed, but recently said the firm had performance problems.

Among the reasons the study found for the state’s lack of oversight were too few employees, inadequate training and a lack of performance targets and data collection.

"Largely what we have in New Jersey today is oversight by audit and expose, which only catches problems after they occur and after they have become severe,” said Janice Fine, the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations professor who led the study.

The study was financed in part by the New Jersey AFL-CIO, a vocal opponent of Governor Christie.

But Fine emphasized that the state’s problems with oversight were not new under the Republican governor.

"Years before anyone had heard of Chris Christie or Jon Corzine, these problems were emerging," she said, referring to Christie’s predecessor, a Democrat.

A spokesman for Christie declined to comment.

State Sen. Bob Gordon, D-Fair Lawn, chairman of the Senate’s Legislative Oversight Committee, met with Fine last week to talk about her findings.

"Unless there is some mechanism for ensuring that we achieve the goals we set out for these programs, it's no surprise that we don't achieve them,” Gordon said. “And the public gets second rate services.”

Lawmakers haven’t settled on any specific proposals to increase oversight, he said, but one idea is to build financing to pay for oversight into each contract the state signs.

Whatever the solution, Fine said the way the state keeps track of its contractors needs significant improvement.

"We’re not proposing here a tinkering around the edges,” she said. “We believe that we need a complete overhaul of how oversight is being done in our state.”